Affligem Blond | Brouwerij De Smedt / Brouwerij Affligem

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Affligem beers originate from the Belgian abbey founded in 1074. The citrus and tropical fruit notes followed by a malty softness and hoppy character combine to make Affligem Blonde a beautifully smooth beer with a lightly bitter finish.

More User Reviews:

3.9/5 rDev 0%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Had this one at B.J's the other night and I quite enjoyed it. It poured a very good golden color with a great fluffy white head that stayed with the beer till the end. The smell was great with a good mix of bananna, alchohol and malt. The flavor of this one reminded me of a Hefeweizen on steroids with its big bananna and clove flavor, but the aftertaste of alchohol changed things drasticly and reminded me quickly that I was not drinking a hefe! All in all this was a good interpretation of the style and a beer I might revisit in the future.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 11.2oz bottle into a tulip glass. It has a "produced on date" date but no abv.

Appearance: It has a hazy orange amber body with tons of beautiful champagne like carbonation. In fact this one slowly bubbled up out of the bottle right after I opened it. From the pour it builds a tall frothy off white head that hang on well and makes lots of lacing on the glass.

Taste/Palate: Like the nose I get the funky fruity yeast and sweet bready character with a touch of spicy/leafy hops. This brings some mellow bitterness and dryness to the finish. The palate has a very drinkable medium body with lively carbonation.

Appearance- Warning, this is a potential gusher. Bunches of head that seems to have little retention. However, it does slow down and linger at about two fingers. The head is a pure cotton white while the body is a pale amber that shows lemon hues when held up to the light. A little bit of lacing is left behind.

Nose- Very Belgian, very much dominated by the yeast. Spicy, bananas, and cloves. Light notes of honey. Swirling reveals even more banana, such that it is almost creamy and suggest marshmallow. I get some apple from the bottle but not really from the glass.

Taste- Very reflective of the nose- reminiscent of a lot of tripels that I've had. Loads of banana, cloves, and a very spicy finish. Some coriander, lemon peel, and apple. A little bit of a nutty and woody finish. Spice makes the tongue tingle. Could use a little bit more presence than just the nice finish of cloves, coriander, and cinnamon. Nothing wrong, it's just that this beer gets a little boring. Still quite nice and a fairly solid beer. Simplifies to mostly banana and the aforementioned spices. Yeast character matches my palette well. Present but not domineering with only a little bit of bitterness. Definitely a good beer.

Mouthfeel- A little more than light bodied with hints of creaminess and syrup. Good amount of carbonation that matches the tingle of the spice. Nice dry finish keeps this beer clean.

Drinkability- Very easygoing. Very tasty but gets a little boring. No heat and very sessionable. Three dollars a bottle seems fairly reasonable.

Overall- Pretty good beer, stays within the wide range of this style. Reminds me a little of New Belgium Tripel but with more spice and less banana. I would give this a try. I could also see myself buying this again.

The head on this brew was the best I have ever see, outside of a Guinness. It was really big and was very pillowy to boot. It almost looked like whipped cream on top of the beer. The color was a cloudy pale color, which was nice too. Smell was a little hoppy, with a nutty/malty backbone. Taste was similar, but a little more in the hoppy aftertaste. I'm not much for big hops and such, but this brew settled nicely with me. A nice brew to drink, especially since it's a lighter brew, but with higher alcohol.

I'm not a huge fan of the style, they often just seem like lighter versions of more substantial Belgian ales. This arrived at a local "packy" this week in six packs. Somewhat suprisingly, I really enjoyed this one. It has a little more punch and body than the usual blonde. A little darker in color, some spice and bite (along with the usual fruity undertones). Refreshing and quite drinkable. I think I'll go back and get the rest of the sixpack!

330ml bottle
6.8% ABV
Queen's Quay LCBO Outlet (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
May 30, 2008
The beer pours a hazy golden orange colour with a bubbly white head which disappears within a couple of minutes. The aroma was grassy malt, some appley hints, and a little hops. The mouthfeel was medium bodied, with medium carbonation. The flavour was very yeasty with some malty hints. A little spiciness as well.

Appearance - Clear yellow colour with a large size frothy and fizzy white coloured head. There is an average amount of carbonation showing and there is some good lacing. The head lasted for only a few minutes.

Smell - Banana, cloves, breads/grains, yeast

Taste & Mouth - The beer has an above average amount carbonation and I can taste bananas mixed with breads/grains and cloves. There are also some floral notes and a bit of a dry woodiness. It ends with a bready slightly dry aftertaste with a hint of fruitiness.

Overall - Happy to give this one a shot on tap. It has a nice well balanced taste and would probably work well as a gateway beer to get others away from macros.

Pours to a lightly-hazy golden with peach accents, forming a tall, rocky white head with spiral streamers that help it form a doughy peaking cap. Retention is excellent and lacing is very nice. Carbonation is medium-strong. Aroma is wonderful...a prominant freesia/lavender kind-of floral note, moderate cloves, a touch of green bananas,, very floral...smells like I have flowers under my nose. Mouthfeel is spritzy with a light body and clean finish. Taste begins with herbal hops, a touch of malt body and pale malt sweetness, dense bittering hop profile, white pepper, a touch of metal, and no off-flavors. The finish is crisp and clean with a prolonged herbal bitterness. This brew has a strong hop profile and medium bitterness which is atypical to many Belgian Abbeys.

This is an interesting brew...I'd like to think of it as a 30/70 mix of Grimbergen Blonde and Anchor Steam. It's flavorful but not complex, light in body and clean, yet not quite enough to get me excited.

Blonde ales are not my favorite ... I typically only review them if they blow me away. Along with the Russian River blondes (I always get my "tions" mixed up ... I think supplication and damnation) this is now one of my faves.

Deep, malty/yeasty flavor. Surprisingly complex for a blonde, and utterly drinkable. No real hops, maybe a hint of some lemon fruit flavoring. At only 1.69 for 12 oz I consider this one of the best ounce for ounce beers I've ever purchased.

A delicious ale with a golden color that has a nice alcoholic punch to it..Belgian lace throughout the glass and a perfect blend of spices and fruitiness make this one of the best Blonde Belgians in the world. A treat to enjoy and very drinkable but beware of the alcohol it does creep up on you.

Picked one of these up in a mix n' match at ABC
A: Pours pale gold with a very nice and thick frothy white head, leaves a little lace, dissipates quickly
S: Strong notes of cloves and cinnamon along with a few other spices I cant put my finger on...very spicy smell
T: Very crisp, clovey, and very spicy
MF: Very smooth and clean finish, light body
D: Highly drinkable beer, however the spiciness would become overwhelming after about 2-3-4 of these...

Overall a good beer, if you like this beer I would recommend beers from Unibroue, specifically "La Fin Du Monde" and "Don de Dieu"